It is often desirable to place a storage unit within the cargo area of a vehicle. In a common usage, this takes the form of placing a crossbody toolbox in the bed of a pickup truck. Such a toolbox markedly increases the utility of the truck by allowing tools, components, and other items to be stored out of the weather and simultaneously be secured against theft and damage.
Off-the-shelf crossbody toolboxes are common after-market items for both full-size and mini pickup trucks, and are readily available in a variety of depths and front-to-back lengths to suit various storage needs. Being off-the-shelf items, such crossbody toolboxes are relatively inexpensive and provide a significant savings over the use of custom toolboxes. This serves to increase their popularity.
Conventionally, a crossbody toolbox is mounted within a truck bed proximate the cab. With such a cab-proximate mounting, all of the truck bed beyond the toolbox remains accessible from the tailgate and is left free for use with other cargo.
A problem exists when a crossbody toolbox is mounted in the conventional cab-proximate position. An individual normally accesses the contents of a toolbox so mounted while standing adjacent to the side of the truck. This limits access to items stored within reach of the individual. Items within the toolbox that are on the opposite side of the truck from the position of the individual are not readily accessible. The individual must then move around the truck to access those items. This solution often poses both an inconvenience and a loss of time for the individual.
A related problem exists when items are stored within a central portion of the bottom of the crossbody toolbox. With the exception of shallow toolboxes, such items may be beyond the reach of the individual. The magnitude of this problem is a function of the depth of the toolbox. That is, the deeper the toolbox, the greater the unreachable area within the toolbox. For deep toolboxes and/or individuals of less than average stature, this problem can become severe.
Compensation for the unreachable-area problem may be made by not storing items within those areas. This may be facilitated by partially filling the unreachable areas within the toolbox with padding or other materials. This solution to one problem creates a different problem by reducing the volume of the toolbox, hence reducing its utility.
Alternatively, compensation for the unreachable-area problem may be made by accessing the contents of the toolbox from within the truck bed. In this manner, each item within the toolbox may be accessed, regardless of where in the toolbox it may be stored. This solution, too, creates another problem by forcing the individual to enter and leave the truck bed to effect access. As above, this solution poses both an inconvenience and a loss of time for the individual. Additionally, both the acts of entering and leaving the truck bed and of maneuvering among other cargo stored therein pose a danger of injury to the individual.
From an access point of view, a crossbody toolbox would ideally be mounted proximate the tailgate. This would allow the entirety of the contents of the toolbox to be accessed while standing adjacent to the truck. This is not a practical solution, however, as the remainder of the truck bed would not then be accessible via the tailgate. The individual would be obliged to load and/or unload additional cargo by lifting that cargo upward and over the sidewalls of the truck bed. This action is inconvenient at best, and may well be impossible for certain heavy cargoes.
Additionally, a crossbody tool box may itself have a gross weight (toolbox and contents) of several hundred pounds. Placing such a load proximate the tailgate and behind the rear axle may constitute an improper and unsafe loading of the truck, especially if there is no other cargo. Operating the truck under such load conditions may create a driving hazard.
Ideally, a crossbody toolbox should be located within (across) the truck bed proximate the cab for truck-loading purposes and proximate the tailgate for access purposes. A plurality of existing schemes have been developed to fulfill this idealized situation and have met with varying degrees of success. Typically, these schemes involve rollers or other devices affixed to the toolbox and coupled to tracks or other mechanisms affixed to some portion of the truck bed. Through these rollers and tracks, the toolbox may be placed in a stowage position proximate the cab while the truck is in use, then moved to an access position proximate the tailgate to facilitate access to the contents of the toolbox as required. While providing solutions to the fundamental stowage and access problems discussed above, each of these schemes has problems of its own.
A problem exists, for example, when the tracks are positioned flush upon the floor of the truck bed. Being floor-mounted, such tracks are prone to damage from other cargo placed in the truck bed and to clogging from dirt and debris. Additionally, most standard crossbody toolboxes would require extensive mounting brackets or other arrangements so as to properly couple with floor-mounted tracks. This scheme does have maximal mounting strength, however, and therefore tends to be used with custom toolboxes or other storage units whose gross weight tends to suggest floor mounting.
A problem also exists when the tracks are placed atop the sidewalls of the bed. Being top-mounted, such tracks are prone to damage when cargo is temporarily place atop the sidewalls as it is loaded or unloaded from the truck bed. Additionally, top-mounted tracks increases the overall height of the toolbox. An increase in height inhibits access to the contents of the toolbox by raising the lip of the toolbox over which an individual must reach to retrieve an item. This may be especially problematical for individuals of less than average stature.
A crossbody toolbox transit scheme utilizing sidewall-mounted tracks within the truck bed provides the best of the track-and-roller methodologies. In such a scheme, the track is mounted upon the insides of the sidewalls, minimizing the potential for damage from either other in-bed cargo and external objects. Also, such a track has a minimal potential for clogging from dirt and other debris. Additionally, such a track does not add to the mounting height of the toolbox nor increases difficulty of access. With this scheme, the crossbody toolbox may easily be moved between a stowage position proximate the truck cab and an access position proximate the tailgate.
For track-mounted, movable crossbody toolboxes, regardless of the track mounting position, a problem exists in that in order to effect a transit from a cab-proximate stowage position to a tailgate-proximate access position, the toolbox must pass over the wheelwells. All but the shallowest of standard (off-the-shelf) crossbody toolboxes have sufficient depth so as to extend below the height of the wheelwells within the truck bed when the toolbox rests upon the tops of the sidewalls. One solution to this problem is to mount the toolbox to the tracks in a raised position so that the bottom of the toolbox clears the wheelwells during transit. This solution may significantly increase the difficulty of access to the contents of the toolbox.
Another solution to the wheelwell-height problem is to use a toolbox configured so that only a portion capable of passing between the wheelwells extends below the height of the wheelwells. This solution usually necessitates the use of a custom crossbody toolbox, significantly increases the toolbox cost, and is incompatible with the existing infrastructure of existing crossbody toolboxes.
An additional problem exists in that standard crossbody toolboxes have mounting planes coincident with the tops of the sidewalls of the truck bed. Relative to the ground, this is sufficiently high with many pickup trucks, especially four-wheel drive pickup trucks, so as to cause the access to all the contents of the toolbox to be difficult at best, even when the toolbox in an access (tailgate-proximate) position.
Yet another problem exists with existing toolbox-transit systems in that a crossbody toolbox and its contents may posses a significant gross weight, often several hundred pounds or more. Should the truck be parked on an incline, manually moving the toolbox between the stowage position proximate the cab and the access position proximate the tailgate may become a significant chore. Indeed, if either the toolbox gross weight or the truck incline is sufficient, the task may be impossible for the individual involved.
A related problem exists in that if the either the mass of the toolbox or the incline of the truck is sufficient, the toolbox may break free of the control of the individual during transit, resulting in possible injury to the individual or damage to the toolbox or its contents, the tracks, or the truck bed.
What is needed is a crossbody toolbox transit system capable of easily effecting a transit of a standard (off-the-shelf) crossbody toolbox between a cab-proximate stowage position and a tailgate-proximate access position in a bed of a pickup truck, wherein the access position allows easy and convenient access to all items within the toolbox even to an individual of less than average stature.